cuda2k

I apparently didn't tighten the skewer on the Serotta tight enough after the last time I'd done work on the rear wheel. Managed to pull the wheel out of the dropouts while trying to sprint from a stop to catch up with the group this morning. Thankfully I managed to make a controlled stop and the rider behind me didn't run up over the top of me either. Guess putting the weight of all those tex-mex meals I've been having lately + starting out in a fairly tall gear was too much for how tight I had it.

afilado

This is very good advice. Even if the wheel does not come out as you describe it can loosen and cause a nasty rub on the inside of the left chainstay. Ask me how I know, dadblame it!

J

cuda2k

I got lucky and my cyclometer sensor took the brunt of the rubbing. Looks like I'll need to put on a new zip tie when I change the battery on it this week.

junkfoodjunkie

I have done this once before also. Took off climbing and pulled it right out, luckily the guy behind me was a little ways back.

Jake

cuda2k

Upon closer inspection I did more damage to the paint on the Serotta than I first thought. The tire rub on the drive side and the cassette rub both did a number on the inside chainstay. Thankfully nearly all of it is hidden when the wheel is in place. Looks like the QR lever took a little chip out of the outside stay, which confirms that it didn't open on me before the wheel came out. Oh well, paint can't be brand new forever.

cudak888 

What QR's are they, Jon? I've had this problem repeatedly with Campagnolo Triomphe skewers (which have a box cross-section to them).

-Kurt

cyclotoine

pretty common if you are using modern skewers... vintage campy and other steel skewers were knurled enough to bite in to the DO, but new smooth alloy skewers don't cut it on vintage bikes... I'm definitely a fan of vertical DOs... don't give me a modern bike without 'em...

randyjawa 

Yup! Been there with an old Olmo. But that bike and this experience taught me something very important...

cuda2k

They are newer style skewers, the hubs are Campagnolo Daytona (9/10sp), but I think the skewers may be from a different model (and don't match front-rear). I'll take a look at the ends and see how much bite they have, I'm also going to adjust the wheel back in the dropouts a bit further than they were for a little extra measure of safety. Thankfully the dropouts look to be straight and true, the shifting felt fine the rest of the day so other than a bit of paint loss I got lucky.

DMNHCAGrandPrix

I bought a 1988 Bianchi Super Leggera bike with Campagnolo Chorus hubs and quick-release skewers last year. When I first rode the bike, I found that the rear wheel would gradually slip in the horizontal rear dropouts, particularly with hard acceleration or hill climbing. Even when I really tightened the quick release skewers as much as possible at the beginning of a ride, the rear wheel would end up tilted enough to nearly be touching the non-drive chain stay by the end of ten or twenty miles of riding. My local bike shop also tried tightening the skewer, and then simply shrugged and said that this kind of slippage in horizontal dropouts was an inherent problem with older bikes and heavier riders (I'm about 175 pounds). However, when I took off the rear wheel later for other adjustments, I found a simple explanation and fix for the problem. The Campagnolo locknuts that are used to hold the position of the cones on the hollow axle have two very different sides: a smooth end with flat faces that face inward towards the cones or spacers, and a serrated end that is meant to bite into the inner surface of the rear dropout (item 15 in attached diagram). The previous owner had installed the Campy locknut in reversed orientation on the drive side, which put the serrated face pointing in towards the cone and spacer, and the smooth/wrench flat outwards towards the dropout. That does make it easier to get at the drive side wrench surfaces as they poke up through the freewheel. However, it puts a completely smooth, rather than a serrated face, against the dropout. I switched it back around when I was servicing the hub. Voila, slippage problem completely cured, just from having the rougher edge against the dropout.

Bianchigirll 

cuda2k you got lucky. I unfortunatly experienced this one night after a qucik flat change on the way home. I was making a left turn sprinting through a large, busy intersection when my wheel let loose. I ended up going pedals over head getting the whole ground sky ground again vista. ruined my new Cdale backpack, some shorts and great rearwheel. the worst part... I had to make the wheel ridable to get home, then back to work in the morning!

bibliobob

Just did that last night when I took my Super Course for its first shakedown spin last night. At first I thought that the SC was going to simply be a tank, and that it would be going on the chopping block. But, I stopped to take a closer look and noticed that the tire was rubbing the stay. One quick adjustment later, I was having that "wheee!" feeling as I hurtled down the road and thought that it might be a keeper after all. The inside of the stays were both already worn, so no guilt over paint damage.

I had the "easy" reminder, which is good to have at the beginning of the riding season.

repechage

Way back there was a customer and club member who kept pulling his wheel over. One day he complained as he pulled into the shop to chat at the mechanics. I said I would look at this, something was amiss... I removed the wheel and was able to turn one side of the axle one way and the the other the opposite way, broken axle. one hub tear down, new axle assembly, bearings, and 15 minutes later he was on his way, a bit poorer for the visit, but no more wheel pulling over.

redxj

I have had that happen twice to myself both on the same bike, my Eddy Merckx. The first time the wheel locked up and I did a controlled skid to the shoulder. I replaced the newer skewer with an older Shimano and it hasn't happened.

cuda2k

Hubs are nearly new (recent custom wheel build), and it's a cassette hub so doubt it's a broken hub, but it's good things to keep in mind on my other bikes - and for other riders who come through this thread. Still kinda bummed about the paint chips, but I'll likely never notice it unless I'm cleaning/washing the bike.